Taylor demands victorious end to historic season

Wales captain Mark Taylor has issued a rallying cry for his team to end their historic season on a high when they face Canada in Toronto tomorrow.

Wales have won their last seven Test matches including their first Grand Slam for 27 years and a record 77-3 victory over USA Eagles in Hartford last week.

It represents their best run of results since Graham Henry led his team to 10 successive victories leading up to and including the opening games of the 1999 World Cup.

Now Mike Ruddock's side can win their eighth, a series that began last November with a record 98-0 victory over Japan in Cardiff, and Taylor is keen to make sure their remarkable season does not end in an anti-climax against the Canadians.

"This is the final weekend of the season so the message to the players has been not to let ourselves down by losing the last game," said Taylor, who will captain the side for the fourth time.

"We know it's going to be a far tougher game than against America last weekend so there's no danger of being over-confident and under-estimating Canada. We know what they are about and have a few guys who have played over in Wales.

"It's a matter of staying relaxed without becoming complacent. We know the type of rugby we can play but we can't just assume things are going to go as well as they did against America last week.

"Everything fell into place perfectly and we got off to a dream start scoring four tries in the opening 20 minutes. What we have to be wary of is thinking that will happen again. We have to establish ourselves and build from there."

Canada have already hinted that they will focus on frustrating the natural attacking instincts of the Welsh especially in the compact surroundings of Toronto University's York Stadium.

Taylor said: "I'm sure Canada have seen the way we play and will do their best to disrupt us. I'm sure they will try to drag us down and pull us into a forward battle so it's going to be a big test for the boys up front. It's going to be a big challenge for them, especially for the younger boys, but if we start well we can take control."

Wales will confirm shortly who will replace No8 Ryan Jones who has been called up to the British Lions squad as cover for Simon Taylor.

Wales already show four changes to the team that brushed past USA with 19-year-old Cardiff Blues wing Chris Czekaj winning his first cap.

Saracens prop Ben Broster and Blues hooker Rhys Thomas, both 23, form a new front-row alongside the more experienced Duncan Jones having both made their Test debuts off the bench last week. The final change sees Robert Sidoli replace Brent Cockbain in the second-row.

Canada, meanwhile, are without several of their more established players but take on Wales on the back of two wins and coach Ric Suggitt insists they are not frightened by the scale of Wales' victory over the Eagles seven days ago.

"In many ways that game is an irrelevance to us. Beating America by 70-points is no reflection at all on ourselves so we won't let it bother us," said Suggitt.

"We have a lot of respect for Wales after their success in the Six Nations but have won our last two games and we're looking for our third."